"At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are." -Michelle Obama
We are the presidents of our classrooms where values matter.
Reflecting on this revelation, I’m thinking more and more that education is all about integrity.
Do we respect the process of teaching and learning and everything in between? Do we commit to doing what’s right, despite the potential backlash?
The truth is, teachers become teachers to make a serious impact. Many believe it’s their duty to contribute to social justice in this country. We work thirteen hour days instead of eight, because we refuse to offer our kids mediocrity.
Integrity, like most core values, has a spectrum, and being the human beings that we are, sliding up and down the scale at times is understandable.
As educators though, why aren’t we holding on to this value for dear life? Why do we end up selling out to fear, pressure or our competitive nature?
Good people teach to the test. Good people use sterile formulaic processes to teach the art of narrative writing. Good people teach science all year out of a textbook. Is this integrity?
Teachers know what’s right, but we cave. And if we don’t cave we must swallow our pride and stand tall when our effectiveness is questioned and our student projects are overlooked for a shiny piece of golden assessment data.
For me, the integrity pieces falls hard here: Why don't the things that count in life, count in schools? Why don’t our assessments match the creative and critical thinking experiences required for real life success?
What message is this sending kids? And would you teach your own child the way you teach your students?
I think schools do a fantastic job praising and encouraging core values. Students are recognized for honesty, compassion and perseverance by committed school communities. There really is nothing like a kid’s face when he gets a solid compliment.
But as for high stakes, we reward the bottom line. Numbers. Numbers count.
No, not introspective poetry. Not a killer hypothesis proved correct by the good ‘ol scientific method. Not a historical case study to be analyzed with evidence and theory.
Although this kind of learning is celebrated, it’s not what we use to measure student mastery or teacher effectiveness, which is why so many teachers skip the projects and the deep rooted socratic seminars just to cover more content.
In the end, teachers have to make a choice whether they want breadth or depth. Breadth can pull some good scores in the short term, but depth holds strong for life. Depth and meaning sticks.
Staying true to your integrity can be a lonely road in education these days, but the long term effects on kids can be monumental. And worth it.
So what then? I think the first step is being honest with ourselves about what kind of teacher we are, and who we want to be...loving ourselves but pushing to be better than the day before...
What kind of teacher do you want to be?
Power to the teacher!
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